So it’s 2014. Has your CXM system really changed in the last decade? I mean, not just gone from mail to email, but fundamentally changed? If you aren’t thinking about the following, nay doing something about the following, you might be behind the times. So find a pen and paper and grade yourself on the following. Are you doing something about these trends? You ready? Please turn over your papers now, this is a timed test.
1. Give a ‘lil bit.
Still sending out surveys and hoping someone will complete them? Well hey, how about giving something back? It doesn’t have to be money, but it should be something. How about some information? Maybe a few award points. Come on, something! Your customers are tired of doing your work for free; give them something back for their time, even if that’s a more entertaining survey experience.
2. Journey, not the one from South Detroit (wherever that is)
“Thanks for buying my widget, talk to you in a few years when I want your money again!” That’ s the message we are providing in many transaction-based surveys. Why not stick with them through their entire ownership journey? Why not find out how their out-of-the-box experience is? Why not touch base when they are actively using your product or service? That’s when your customers are most vulnerable to be wooed over to your competitors. Let’s be our customers’ wingman through the whole ownership experience, not just right after they buy something.
3. Just for you.
I get the same boring survey every time I fly a certain airline and stay in a certain hotel. Hey, how about changing it up? I am a platinum customer for god’s sake. How about a little love here? A little recognition? Oh by the way I moved and while I love your new lounge at LAX, your last direct from XNA to DFW was pretty bad. What? Oh, I should just fill out this 30 page survey again??? Oh, ok…snooze.
4. Oh dear, what if they want to BUY something!
So most CXM systems do a fair job of figuring when I am really angry and doing something about it. What’s wrong with identifying opportunities too? If I have 100,000 miles on my vehicle or my lease is almost up, I expect to hear from the manufacturer. If a customer is jazzed about the new F-150 he bought and wants to throw some Spyder fog lamps on it or a sweet Tonneau cover, what’s the harm in giving him some options? Let’s get over ourselves, we are here to help customers in need; whether that’s a problem or opportunity – it’s still a need. Let’s help customers out.
5. Right now.
Like it or not people want things NOW. The days of waiting for customer feedback for days is long gone. Clients want information now, and customers expect an immediate response. I think it was Aristotle who said “You snooze, you lose” but I could be wrong about that. The same is true in the CXM space. Talking with your customers is like voting in Chicago; do it early and do it often.
6. I knew you wanted that.
Wondering what to get Dad for Father’s day? Amazon is ever so helpful. Wondering what movie to watch? Netflix – also helpful. Why? They look at your behaviors and model them to predict what you might want in the future. I find this helpful. Millennials find this helpful. People will give up personal information to get some value in return. Most CXM programs are looking in the rear view mirror to help the customers out. Let’s use the behavioral data we have with the attitudinal data to predict where the puck is going, versus where it is today – or where it was yesterday. Ah…a Café Latte. Thank you, how did you know I wanted that right now?
7. Mobile first.
People are on the move. If you’re like me, your mobile device is as important as your wallet. In fact, shortly, your mobile device will be your wallet. So why do we design surveys and portals for the desktop and then think “oh ya, some people have these smart phone things, maybe we should do something about that”. We should start designing portals and customer dialogues for mobile devices FIRST and then retrofit them to the PC/Desktop world after. That’s the new reality.
8. The rise of geo-fencing.
Bing! You walk out of the Gap after buying that bad-ass V neck t shirt and skinny jeans. “How is everything today?” your mobile phone chirps as you walk out to the parking lot to find your car. You take a few minutes to fill out the survey and get a coupon for coming back later. Geo-location based surveys will displace receipt based systems sooner rather than later. Whether it rides on the retailer mobile app or an independent application, if you are not taking advantage of this new technology, you should definitely look into it.
9. A CXM ecosystem.
“Oh! So it looks like Bob is unhappy with his service. Well, we should do something about that!” said the CXM professional from 2004. Really? You sure about that? What if Bob is someone who regularly absorbs the retailers’ staff time on educating him on what electronic device to buy, only for him to procure it online? The truth is customer information systems need to be integrated so a more holistic view of the customer can be understood. CXM systems need to be, and will be, integrated into overall Customer Management Systems. It will combine ownership databases, CRM databases, customer databases, usage logs, and other ancillary data warehouses to provide a complete view of individual customers and their valuation to the enterprise. The CXM system will need to interact with and integrate with the larger ecosphere of customer software. This is good for the customer, good for CXM professional, and good for the retailer.
10. It’s about people stupid.
We did a hierarchical Bayesian analysis and determined cluster 7 prefers peanuts rather than pretzels in the Dallas/Fort Worth to Chicago flight. Really? That’s insight? How about we give Johnny a complimentary Dewers on the rocks and Jen her vegan hummus and call it a day? Now, that’s delivering customer value! The truth is, advanced analytics are to a point where we can identify individual preferences and deliver the goods on an individual basis. Let’s stop messing around with aggregate and get to the customer. After all, the mean is average and very few people are average. Let’s get back to the individual. We have the technology to do so now, so let’s get on it.
How did you do?
So how did you do? If you are doing less than 2, your are probably average. 3-6 above average. 7 or 8, a superstar. If you are doing something about 9 or more of the above trends, please give me a call because I need some advice from you.
